CPA letter 2005

CPA letter 2005 1

2
User Feedback Spurs New
Online Capabilities at
CPA2Biz.com
2
Members Offered Airline, Car
Rental, Amtrak Discounts
4
FASB Issues Statement on
Inventory Costs
5
AICPA Unveils 2005 Top
Technologies List:
Information Security
No. 1 Again
6
AICPA Recommends Top
Three Goals for IRS
Oversight Board
8
Accounting Ranks #1 as
College Major
As reported in the Nov. and Sept. issues of
The CPA Letter, the AICPA, at the direction
of its governing Council, began a member
awareness effort regarding increased trans-parency
of peer review results. Council
had voted at its May 2004 meeting to
support the idea of granting a broad-er
range of stakeholders greater
access to certain peer review infor-mation,
such as the peer review
report, the acceptance letter, and any
letter of comment and applicable firm
response.
A central component of the member aware-ness
initiative is a recently launched Web site
(www.aicpa.org/transparency/index.htm). The
site explains the peer review process and its
benefits from a historical perspective; allows
visitors to download Peer Review in an Era of
Transparency: A Position Paper; and provides
a range of materials describing the issues and
members’ viewpoints. In addition, the site has
a link to a dedicated e-mail box for members’
comments and questions (peerreviewtrans-parency@
aicpa.org).
To enhance its ability to gather
member input on granting greater
access to peer review reports, the
AICPA has developed an online sur-vey.
Members are asked to review the
“Frequently Asked Questions on Greater
Transparency” document on the Web page, at
a minimum, before completing the online
survey. You can access the survey through a
link on the Web site under the “Share Your
Views” banner or directly at http://websur-veyor.
net/wsb.dll/20058/AICPA_Peer_Revie
w_Survey1.htm.
TheCPALetter January 2005 Vol. 85 No. 1
A News Report to Members
Highlights
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E OF C E RT I F I E D P U B L I C ACCOUNTANTS
Members’ Comments Sought on
Increased Transparency in Peer Review
This issue of The CPA
Letter has been published
exclusively in electronic
format. Next month’s issue
will be published both
electronically and in print.
news
update
For the past several months, members have
been inquiring about how to comply with
new rules under Ethics Interpretation 101-
3, Performance of Nonattest Services.
Providing information and resources in
return has been an AICPA priority.
In addition to many articles in this
newsletter and other Institute publications,
the Ethics team established a dedicated Web
page (www.aicpa.org/members/div/ethics/
intr_101-3.htm) that contains, among other
things, frequently asked questions that offer
real-life examples of how the interpretation is
used in practice. Most recently, implementa-tion
guidance has been issued for both the
documentation and competency require-ments.
Background
In Sept. 2003, the AICPA’s Professional
Ethics Executive Committee issued revi-sions
to Interpretation 101-3 to ensure its
continued effectiveness in promoting inde-pendence
when a member renders nonattest
services to an attest client1. The new rules
became effective for new engagements on
Jan. 1, 2004.
One of the requirements of the new rules
is that, prior to performing nonattest ser-vices
for an attest client, the member should
establish and document in writing his or
her understanding with the client regarding
the objectives of the engagement; services
to be performed; client’s acceptance of its
responsibilities; member’s responsibilities;
and any limitations of the engagement.
To provide members with additional time
to update their firm policies and procedures
and further educate firm personnel, the com-
Need Help Implementing New Rules on Performing Nonattest
Services? Guidance Now Available on Documentation, Competency
Requirements
continued on page 3
1 Other regulators may have more restrictive rules
regarding independence when performing nonattest
services for an attest client. Accordingly, members
should be aware of and comply with all rules and
regulations applicable to specific clients.